Book of the Week: The Periodic Table by: Primo Levi
This was translated from Italian by: Raymond Rosenthal
What can I say? I am a geek. This was a book I chose only based on my love for science. I like to read about chemistry and anything else science related. My friends thought it was an odd choice but then they don't have the same interest in science as do I. To many readers the career of a chemist might seem as exciting as the career of an accountant or a tax attorney, essential to society, but better left to someone else. I suggest that if you put that thought aside you will truly be surprised with this book.
Primo Levi was a Jewish chemist that was a survivor of the Holocaust and imprisonment in Auschwitz. Some of the stories are quasi autobiographical, using the Piedmontese Jewish community he came from and his time imprisoned to illuminate human interaction.
He begins the book with Argon and continues with selected elements in the periodic table for a total of 21 chapters. Mingling fact and fiction, history and anecdote, Levi uses his training as a chemist and his experiences as a prisoner in Auschwitz to illuminate the human condition. Each of the 21 chapters is titled for an element of the periodic table which is the focus of their themes. The chapter is based on one idea the element inspired which he explores. I recommend the three chapters Lead, Mercury, and Carbon. I was absolutely fascinated by all three. Lead and Mecury should be read by students of history and Carbon should be mandatory reading for all students of chemistry and biology.
What can I say? I am a geek. This was a book I chose only based on my love for science. I like to read about chemistry and anything else science related. My friends thought it was an odd choice but then they don't have the same interest in science as do I. To many readers the career of a chemist might seem as exciting as the career of an accountant or a tax attorney, essential to society, but better left to someone else. I suggest that if you put that thought aside you will truly be surprised with this book.
Primo Levi was a Jewish chemist that was a survivor of the Holocaust and imprisonment in Auschwitz. Some of the stories are quasi autobiographical, using the Piedmontese Jewish community he came from and his time imprisoned to illuminate human interaction.
He begins the book with Argon and continues with selected elements in the periodic table for a total of 21 chapters. Mingling fact and fiction, history and anecdote, Levi uses his training as a chemist and his experiences as a prisoner in Auschwitz to illuminate the human condition. Each of the 21 chapters is titled for an element of the periodic table which is the focus of their themes. The chapter is based on one idea the element inspired which he explores. I recommend the three chapters Lead, Mercury, and Carbon. I was absolutely fascinated by all three. Lead and Mecury should be read by students of history and Carbon should be mandatory reading for all students of chemistry and biology.
posted by Wild Librarian | 11:26 PM
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